1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to isolated polypeptides having acid phosphatase activity and isolated nucleic acid sequences encoding the polypeptides. The invention also relates to nucleic acid constructs, vectors, and host cells comprising the nucleic acid sequences as well as methods for producing and using the polypeptides.
2. Description of the Related Art
Acid phosphatases (EC 3.1.3.2) catalyze the hydrolysis of an orthophosphate monoester to an alcohol and orthophosphate. The substrate specificity includes phosphomonoesters, nucleoside monophosphates, nucleoside diphosphates, nucleoside triphosphates, hexose monophosphates, and many other compounds (see, for example, Saha et al., 1985, Archives of Biochemistry and Biophysics 243: 150-160; Gonzales and Meizel, 1973, Biochimica Biophysica Acta 320: 180-194; Horgen et al., 1974, Canadian Journal of Biochemistry 52: 126-136).
Acid phosphatases play a physiological role in fertilization (Lin and Clinton, 1987, In Merlevede and DiSalvo, editors, Adv. Prot. Phosphatases 4: 199-228), epidermal growth (Lin and Clinton, 1987, supra), energy metabolism (Filburn, 1973, Archives in Biochemistry and Biophysics 159: 683-693), mobilization of phosphorus reserves during seed germination (Ferens and Morawiecka, 1985, Phytochemistry 24: 2839-2842); and scavenging phosphorus for growing cells (Heredia et al., 1963, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 10: 14-18; Gunther and Kattner, 1968, Z. Naturforsch 236: 77-80; Roomans and Borst-Pauwels, 1979, Biochemical Journal 178: 521-527).
Acid phosphatases have been reported to be useful for the preparation of nucleoside 5'-phosphates from a nucleoside and a phosphate donor (EP 857788).
Acid phosphatases have been isolated from mammals, plants, bacteria, yeast and fungi. In particular, acid phosphatases have been reportedly produced by Fusarium strains including Fusarium culmorum (Etebarian et al., 1996, Iranian Journal of Plant Pathology 32: 9-21); Fusarium solani (Sano and Ui, 1981, Annals of the Phytopathological Society of Japan 47: 547-554; Fusarium oxysporum (Madhosingh, 1980, Phytopathologische Zeitschrift 97: 56-67); Fusarium moniliforme (Yoshida, 1973, Journal of Biochemistry 73: 23-29); and Fusarium sp. (Huss et al., 1996, Applied and Environmemtal Microbiology 62: 3750-3756; Min and Kweon, 1994, Korean Journal of Mycology 22: 386-393; Pomazi et al., 1993, Acta Microbiologica Hungarica 40: 71-79).
Acid phosphatase genes have been isolated from Pichia pastoris (U.S. Pat. No. 5,268,273) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (Rodgers et al., 1982, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences USA 79: 2157-2161).
There is a need in the art for new acid phosphatases that can be produced in commercial quantities.
It is an object of the present invention to provide improved polypeptides having acid phosphatase activity and nucleic acid encoding the polypeptides.